Carriage Way Repaving Plan Hits Bumpy Road

With its myriad of deep puddles, soft spots and crater-like potholes, driving along Carriage Way is as challenging as negotiating a dirt roadway in Vermont during the mud season.

Having had two of his vehicles sustain damage on the 135-year-old dirt-and-gravel road through Crescent Park, Sea Girt Councilman Ken Farrell knows all too well how the road's weakened surface wreaks havoc on a car's undercarriage. He recalled his experiences during the Borough Council's Feb. 9 meeting.

“It’s like driving in the Amazon rainforest,” said Farrell, who has lived off Carriage Way for 18 years. Larger than usual snowfalls last winter and so far this winter have further eroded what dirt, sand and gravel top the surface, according to borough Engineer Peter Avakian, who has studied the aging road over the years.

“It doesn’t weather very well,” Avakian told the council while presenting an $85,000 proposal to pave and repair the road.

Although potholes were filled in and the road bulldozed in February 2010, this winter's heavy snowfalls have resulted in new potholes and weak spots, said Avakian, who recommended that the council endorse his plan.

“The last two winters have only exacerbated the problem,” Avakian said. However, at least six of the 21 Ocean Avenue residents, whose properties back up to Carriage Way, predict that putting down asphalt and softening some of the road’s existing sharp curves would result in vehicles speeding through the park and lead to accidents involving pedestrians.

As they have in the past, those residents would prefer that Carriage Way remain a dirt-and-gravel road and that a new layer of gravel be added as has been done before.

“We have to tread lightly with this,” Councilman Don Fetzer said. “[Paving] would change the whole character of the neighborhood."

Putting down more gravel would cost about $50,000, but with the road’s sub-base rapidly eroding, the stones might not survive the elements, Avakian pointed out.

“Gravel would be very good for a weekend until the next rainfall,” Avakian said.

“The sub-base is deteriorating underneath [the road].” Sea Girt does not own a grater to periodically smooth out the gravel. Nor can the council justify spending  as much as $20,000 for a grater that would only be used for Carriage Way and one other dirt road in town, said Council President Fred Niemeyer. Heavy-duty construction vehicles have also been frequently using the road to access building sites in the park’s vicinity—a condition that has also damaged the road surface, he added.  

“The only way to fix it is to put a good base in,” Niemeyer said. “Just to buy a grater is cost-prohibitive.”

Although the town’s Department of Public Works has used its own bulldozer to smooth out the surface, its efforts were in vain when the equipment accidentally damaged the sub-base. Farrell said.

Ocean Avenue resident Buddy Robinson asked Avakian and the council to consider leaving the existing curves in place or even sharpening their angles. Such curves would discourage motorist speeding and protect pedestrians walking near the roadway, he said.  

“We just want this road as curvy as possible to slow people down,” Robinson added.

The council is seeking state Department of Transportation (DOT) funding to defray the overall cost of repairs. However, Avakian said he was uncertain if the DOT would fund the project if the design were revised to keep the curves in place. As presented, Avakian’s designs call for Carriage Way to be excavated and converted into a 12- foot-wide paved roadway with asphalt over a gravel sub-base with four-foot-wide stone shoulders on each side.

The $85,000 price tag includes $20,000 for stormwater management projects as required by state law. The number and location of drains to be placed intermittently along the road would depend on how well the road surface responds to construction and where and if any ponding occurs, Avakian said.

At the council’s request, Avakian agreed to review the questions raised by officials and residents and see how the design might be further modified to address those concerns. He is expected to return before the council after 45-days. If the council chooses to pave the road, construction could begin this fall as long as DOT funding, and any required permits including CAFRA permits are in place, Borough Administrator Al Bunting said.

Because Carriage Way parallels Ocean Avenue and the beachfront, Sea Girt might be required to apply for and receive state CAFRA permits from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The cost of applying for those permits is not included in the $85,000 estimate, Avakian said.